Queens College President Felix V. Matos
Rodriguez appointed CUNY Chancellor
By Bill Parry The City University of New York ended
a yearlong search and named Queens
College president Félix V. Matos
Rodríguez as its new chancellor.
The CUNY board of trustees voted
on February 13 to appoint Matos
Rodríguez, an accomplished scholar, teacher,
administrator and public servant who has been
president of Queens College since 2014, as the
eighth chancellor of CUNY. He will be both the
fi rst Latino and minority educator to head the
university. He will assume the post on May 1.
“I am deeply grateful and tremendously
excited to lead the nation’s foremost urban
public university, particularly at this time when
our mission and commitment to excellent public
higher education has never been more vital,”
Matos Rodríguez said. “This is an extraordinary
opportunity for anyone who is passionate about
the role CUNY plays in the lifeblood of the city,
anyone who is deeply committed to opening the
doors of educational excellence and economic
and social mobility to all the people of New York.”
Matos Rodríguez, 56, has drawn national
recognition as a trailblazer in higher education.
He enhanced Queens College’s reputation for
excellence and propelled the school to the
highest echelon in college social-mobility
rankings.
“It is not easy for me to share this news with the
QC community who has so generously embraced
me and my family during the past fi ve years,”
Matos Rodríguez said. “I thank each and every
one of you for your friendship and collegiality.
I’m proud of the collective work we have been
able to accomplish despite tight fi scal times. Our
success has been propelled by a unique kinship
of students, faculty, staff , alumni and community
partners who together to carry on QC’s legacy of
academic excellence, service and access.”
Since Matos Rodríguez took offi ce as the 10th
president of Queens College in August 2014,
the school has been recognized for its success
at propelling students into the middle class.
A 2016 study by the Equality of Opportunity
Project ranked Queens College in the top 1
percent of all colleges in moving students from
the bottom fi fth to the top fi fth of the country’s
income distribution, and The Chronicle of Higher
Education in August 2018 ranked the school
11th of all U.S. colleges for upward social and
economic mobility.
“The appointment of Félix Matos Rodríguez as
chancellor marks the onset of a historic chapter
in the narrative of this vital institution, one in
which every member of the CUNY community
should rejoice,” William C. Thompson Jr., chair
of the CUNY board of trustees and leader of
the Chancellor Search Committee. “In word
and deed, Matos Rodríguez embodies CUNY’s
mission-driven spirit. Since Matos Rodríguez
took offi ce as the 10th president of Queens
College, in August 2014, the school has been
recognized for its success at propelling students
into the middle class.”
Matos Rodríguez holds a B.A. from Yale
University, where he was a cum laude graduate, and
a doctorate in history from Columbia University.
Matos Rodríguez has been an aggressive
fundraiser; during his tenure, the Queens College
Foundation has nearly doubled in value.
“We will share news about the leadership transition
in the college in the weeks ahead after appropriate
consultation and refl ection,” Matos Rodríguez said.
“I know I will miss you and our beautiful campus,
but I’m comforted by the thought that we will be
working together still as I transition to my new role
as chancellor of this great university. I look forward to
continue working with you to build a stronger QC and
a stronger CUNY for decades to come.”
©The City University of New York
Photo courtesy of CUNY
QNS.COM
8 SPRING 2019
/QNS.COM